Vigil
by Dark Ice Dragon
Summary: The first few days after M-21 had been taken into the household were filled with late nights.


**Summary**: The first few days after M-21 had been taken into the household were filled with late nights.

The first few days after M-21 had been taken into the household were filled with late nights.

* * *

**Vigil**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

"You can sleep here," Frankenstein told M-21, stopping by one of the bedroom floors on the second floor - it was an equal distance from the staircase and balcony, in case M-21 was worried about not having enough time to react if he felt he was in danger.

M-21 only seemed to be dimly aware of the position, his eyes flicking to see the exit routes out of habit before his gaze turned inward again. It was a reaction, at least.

On their way back from the Union laboratory, M-21 had been silent, which wasn't that surprising. The damage in that room had been extensive and M-21 had seemed stunned at it as well. Humans had progressed further with human modification than Frankenstein had thought; he would need to look further into that.

Frankenstein had felt Master's concern when they were halfway home and a glance had revealed a closed-off face, stiff limbs, and a blank stare. Of course his newfound power wouldn't be the only things praying on his mind, and now that M-21 had time to think…

The door closed quietly behind M-21 and Frankenstein listened, trying to hear what he was doing. There wasn't any movement for a few seconds, but there wasn't a thump of a body against the door either.

A light scuffle – M-21 was dragging his feet, and then there was a brief squeak of bedsprings.

There wasn't much movement after that, and Frankenstein turned away, not making a sound.

Master was sitting in the living room and Frankenstein went to his side, bowing once he was there. "Master, he has gone to bed."

Master nodded. "He's still hurting…"

"I'm not surprised," Frankenstein said after he'd straightened. Master's eyes were troubled, and he had a small frown on his face. "They had known each other for a long time."

"Hm."

"I'll prepare you a cup of tea, Master." Frankenstein waited for his acknowledgement.

"Make one for yourself as well," Master added and Frankenstein blinked once before letting a small smile spread across his face.

"Thank you, Master." They didn't know when M-21 would eventually drop off, and even then, it may not be restful.

He turned around to start making the tea.

xOx

"He's asleep," Master murmured, his eyes drifting towards the ceiling as Frankenstein poured him a cup of freshly brewed tea.

"Ah, that's good." Frankenstein looked at the clock - just before three. As for M-21 getting undisturbed sleep however…

"You should as well."

He directed his attention back to Master, confused. "Master?"

There was a soft smile on Master's lips. "You need your rest."

"But…" So did he, since he had awakened M-21.

Master shook his head. "I have rested enough for now."

Frankenstein opened his mouth, paused, and then closed it, studying him. Master didn't show any signs of weariness and he didn't seem that much paler than before. So long as this was the only time Master used his powers, he would be fine. "Yes, Master." He set the teapot down and bowed. "I will see you in the morning."

"Sleep well."

xOx

A few hours later, Frankenstein woke up to his alarm. While mildly sluggish, the feeling soon faded and he started getting ready for the new day.

Master was downstairs where he'd left him, an empty cup in front of him. The teapot beside it was similarly empty.

"Master?"

"His sleep was a little restless, but it was mostly peaceful."

Frankenstein nodded at the information. That also meant Master hadn't slept at all, and he pursed his lips.

Master gave him a small smile at his worry. "I'm fine, Frankenstein."

"I know, Master." He'd known Master to go several days without rest – he wasn't human, after all, so he didn't have the same limitations as them, but Frankenstein still preferred him to rest as much as he could.

While Frankenstein prepared breakfast he heard the living room door open and close. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at M-21, who already had his borrowed jacket on. "Good morning, M-21."

M-21 blinked, apparently not expecting the greeting. "…Hey."

"Would you like some breakfast before you leave?"

The surprised lift of the eyebrows flitted away, and M-21 frowned, eyeing the pan in front of him with suspicion. "No."

Hm, M-21 hadn't eaten anything the day before either… "If you wish, I could show you around the school grounds before you officially start work." It could help him keep his mind off other things.

M-21's shoulders tensed this time. "No."

"Very well." He gave M-21 another smile before turning his attention back to breakfast. It was nearly done, and Frankenstein went to prepare Master's tea.

He could hear M-21's footsteps hesitantly start moving again, and the more he continued to focus on breakfast, the stronger M-21's confidence became.

By the time the front door clicked shut, Frankenstein had finished and he took the plates over to the dining table where Master was waiting.

xOx

Frankenstein sighed, trying to hide his wince as Shinwoo dropped a packet of crisps on the floor. It had thankfully been nearly empty, but that didn't mean there wasn't an extra dusting of crumbs when it was picked up again.

He heard the front door open and Frankenstein blinked. Who could that be…? No-one else had the key to the front door except… Oh, of course. He had given M-21 a key the day before.

M-21 peered around the entranceway, frowning slightly.

"We need another player!"

"But the only person left is…"

M-21 seemed reassured by the voices and he slipped into the living room, his slippered feet not making any noise.

"Ah! Mister!"

M-21 froze for a second before he turned his head towards the children. He was holding himself less stiffly than when Frankenstein had last seen him, his body language a little more open.

"Great, we got our fifth player!"

Oh dear.

The children were beckoning M-21 and Frankenstein busied himself with going towards the fridge, in case M-21 felt he had to do one particular action based on his or Master's reactions.

He smiled when the children cheered, hearing M-21 making his way towards them.

"Hah, lucky I brought _extra_ snacks this time!"

Frankenstein's smile froze.

xOx

Afterwards, once the children had gone home and left their decimation, Frankenstein asked M-21, "Are you still hungry?" The children had made _sure_ that M-21 ate his share of the snacks.

M-21 eyed him. "Why?"

He picked up a few packets and binned them. "I was wondering if you wanted dinner now or later."

"Do you always have regular meals here?" M-21's lips were at a mistrustful slant, his eyes narrowed.

The fact M-21 had to ask that in the first place… "We try to," Frankenstein said, smiling softly at him. He did sometimes have the habit of missing meals while he was engrossed in work but now that Master was here, he'd started being more aware of the time.

M-21 didn't say anything for a few seconds and then nodded. "Later."

"Very well. I will tell you when it's ready."

"Fine." Without another word, M-21 left the living room.

xOx

Dinner had been quiet and while M-21 hadn't eaten much, he'd sampled all of the food, though only after subtly checking they were safe to eat first. The tenseness in his shoulders slowly eased over the course of the meal to Frankenstein's relief.

He didn't follow M-21 up the stairs and once all the dishes had been washed and put away, Frankenstein bowed to Master. "I will be downstairs, Master."

Master responded with a nod and Frankenstein left. The trip downstairs was a short one and Frankenstein exhaled when the lights to his laboratory flickered on to his presence, like it hadn't been several years since he had last went down.

He had never seriously intended to use it – he'd made it because he'd had the time, money, and he had been curious if he could improve upon the laboratory on his island.

He'd eventually decided to stop after he'd finished the ninth floor; his point had been made and it was left untouched after that.

But now that M-21 was in the house…

The air was stale, he noted as he walked in – he would have to do something about that. Other than that, he was mostly satisfied with what he saw.

Technology had continued to improve in leaps and bounds since he'd last been there so he would have to update some of his machines to ensure they were still ahead of what humanity currently had so far.

Going to the first machine closest to the door, Frankenstein switched it on. He heard it hum in response, the screen lighting up at the same time. That was good, but he would need to check every single one, just in case.

Then he also needed to bring out all the apparatus he needed, wash them and all the surfaces… What else did he need to do…

xOx

Once the laboratory was mostly to his satisfaction (there were a few more things he needed to prepare for it to be completely ready) Frankenstein went back upstairs to the living room.

"Master?"

"He's asleep."

Frankenstein nodded, checking the time. …Ah, he had been downstairs longer than he'd realised, but it was still earlier than when M-21 had gone to sleep the night before. Hopefully M-21 would also sleep well.

"Master," he said, returning his attention to him, "you should rest."

Master pursed his lips. "Frankenstein…"

"You hadn't had any sleep yesterday," he pressed, "and I while I won't be able to watch over him as well as you, he is beginning to settle in." There wasn't much else he would be able to say to convince Master to sleep.

There was a pause and then Master closed his eyes, exhaling. "All right."

Frankenstein smiled in relief. "Thank you, Master."

xOx

The next morning, M-21 came down for breakfast. He hovered at the doorway, eyeing the plates set on the dining table.

"Have a seat," Frankenstein said, smiling as he undid his apron. "I'll get you a plate."

"…You're sure?"

He was already bringing a plate over and he chuckled as he put it down. "Yes – there is more than enough for the three of us."

M-21 sat down, studying the selection. He snorted. "Looks like you could feed seven."

Or they had different expectations for what was considered a 'good meal'. Hm. Well, M-21 was with them now, so he would hopefully learn soon enough.

At the end of the meal, M-21 set his chopsticks down and stared at his plate, his lips pursed.

"Did you not like it?" Frankenstein asked, refraining from frowning. M-21 had eaten better than before, but if he was used to eating what he didn't enjoy…

M-21 shook his head. "It was fine." He paused, and then lifted his gaze to meet his. "I want to see the school."

Frankenstein smiled, pleased. "Give me a few moments and I'll be ready to go."

"All right."

xOx

The tour around the school had gone well, and Frankenstein introduced M-21 to a few of the staff members, as well as the security team. After that, it had been a simple matter of retrieving M-21's uniform, the team wanting M-21 to know their protocols and procedures as soon as possible.

That night, once Frankenstein had finished his last preparations after M-21 had gone to bed (and he had shown Master around his laboratory as well), both he and Master retired for the night together.

* * *

Written for the imagineyourotp prompt, 'Imagine you OTP having their first child. Person B stays up all night making sure their child is sleeping, and also holds the baby all day. After a while, person A convinces person B to let the baby sleep in the crib and finally get a good night's sleep.' Uh, yeah, I tend to take prompts really broadly. XD;;

Basically, not only was M-21 Frankenstein and Rai's first child, he was also the troubled one that had all the teething problems and sensitivity and having the self-esteem of a _rock_. And then they were all prepared when they adopted their next lot of children, but they were more adjusted than their first child. XDD


End file.
